Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-02-12
Faster Talmage Discourses on Ancient and
Modern Decisions.
They Have Influenced Mankind More Ior
Less for Ages.
Tho Christian Religion Compared With
Thsm and It's Reality Proved.
~sakepticism Compelled to Acknowledge Its
Supreme Power.
Tho Great Infdels in Their Last Moments
Admit It's Truth.

BROOKLYN, Jan. 30.-After reading
anether list of those who during the
week had united with the church DR..
Talmage discussed the subject: 'Is
the Christian Religion q CheatP" His
Sext was:
ale made his arrows bright, he consulted
with images, he looked in the ~liver"-Ezekiel
XXI. xvi.
The preacher said:
Two modes of divination by which
the king of Babylon proposed to find
cut the will of God. He took a bundle
Of arrows, put them together, mixed
them up, then pulled forth one, and by
the inscription OF it decided what city
ne should first assault, Then an ami
NAL was slain, and by the lighter or
darker color of the liver, the brighter
or darker prospect of success vas in
ferred. That is the meaning Of the
text: ''He made his AFRO ws bright. he
consulted with images, he looked in
tAe liver
Stupid delusion! And yet all the
ages have been filled with delusions. 1t
seems rs if the world loves to be hood
winKed. the delusion Of the text only
q specimen of a vast number of deceits
practiced upon the human race. In
sAs latter part of the last century, johann
m Southcote came forth pretending to
have divine power, made propesies.
had chapels built in her honor, and one
hundred thousand disciples came forth
to follow her. About five years before
the birth of Christ,
AroLLoNIUs
was born, and he came forth, and after
Eve years being speeches. according
TO the tradition, he healed the sick and
raised the dead, and preached virtue,
and, according to the myth, having de-
.ssased, vas brought resurrection!
The Delphic Oracle deceived vast
nultitudes of people; the P~ythoness
seated in the Temple of Apollo uttering
a crazy jargon from which the people
guessed their individual or national
fortunes or misfortunes. The utter
Ances were Of such a nature that you
could read them any way you wanted
to read them. A general going forth
to battle, consulted the Delphic Oracle,
and he wanted 60 find out whether he
was gong to be safe in the battle, or
killed in the battle, and the answer
came forth from the Delphic Oracle in
such words that, if you put the comma
before the word %''never," it means one
think, and if you put the comma after
the word '.never," it means another
thing just opposite. The message from
the Delphic Oracle TO the general was:
"'Go forth, return never III battle shalt
thou perish" If he was killed, that
was according to the Delphic Oracle;
if he came home safely, that was ac-
cording to the Delphic Oracle.
So tile ancient auguries de-
ceived the people. The priests
of those auguries, by the flights of
birds, or by the information of thunder,
or by the inside appearance Of slain
animals, told the fortunes or misfor
tunes of individuals or nations. The
sibyls deceived the people. The sibyls
were supposed to be inspired ONE
who lived in caves and who wrote the
sibynine books afterAvard purchased by
Tarquin the Proud. AS late as the
year 1929, a man arose in New
York pretending to be a divine being and
playing his part SO we'll that wealthy
merchants become his disciples and
throw their fortunes into his disciple
ship. And so in all ages, there have
been nocromancies, nominations,
witchcrafts. sorceries, magica larts, en-
chantments, ~divinations and decisions.
The one of the text was only a speci-
lCsi VA that WiiSii iissS tStH III DlElUN
IN all ages of the world. None of
THESE psLUsIONs
accomplished any good. They do
ceived. they pauperized the people
they were as cruel as they were absurd.
They opened no hospitals, they healed
NO wounds, they wiped away no tears,
they emancipated no serfdom.
But there are those who say that all
these delusions combined are as moth
'ing compared with the delusion now
abroad in the world, the delusion of
the Christian religion. That delusion
9has to-day two hundred million dupes.
1t proposes to encircle the earth with
its girdle. That which has been called
a deiasion has already overshadowcd
the Appalachian range on this side the
sea, and it has ov~crshadowed the Bal